The Future
by Bluetech
Summary: "The best way to predict your future is to create it." - Abraham Lincoln


It was a cool and clear evening in the Time of the Silver Rain.

The stars scattered across the sky sparkled flamboyantly, a plethora of diamonds embedded in a velvety black tapestry. The full moon superseded them, her mercurial glow raining down upon the S'yrthghar unabated.

Owls, the uncontested masters of the night, were stirring.

Escaping the clutches of unconsciousness, they punctuated the thick silence with a variety of hoots, whistles, whinnies, and screeches.

Their vocalizations were not as musical as those of daytime songbirds. No, they were attention-grabbing at best and foreboding at worst.

Their diverse calls warned the lesser creatures of earth and sky that the dominion of the owls had begun once more.

This was especially true in Silverveil, a lush, forested province that supported a rather large number of owls of various species.

However, the silence persisted in one particular location: a weathered stone castle.

An ancient fortress and place of worship left behind by the long-extinct Others, it served as temporary shelter for the Pure Ones, a contingent of Tytos commanded by Nyra and Kludd.

Sentries concealed themselves in the trees surrounding it, while others perched on the crumbling spires and exterior walls of the castle proper.

They, unlike their counterparts, were utterly silent. Intently they watched, and more importantly, listened, for any sign of an impending attack.

The Great Downing led to the discovery of their base of operations by their rivals, the owls of St. Aegolius. It was a most unfortunate consequence, but it was promptly addressed.

A significant portion of the Pure One army was headed for Cape Glaux. That was to be their staging ground in preparation for an assault on the Great Tree.

Comparatively few thus stayed behind to protect the castle. Nyra and Kludd wouldn't dare leave their remaining soldiers, let alone themselves, susceptible to an ambush.

They wasted no time in organizing a network of guards to act as vigilant lookouts. Should forces launch what they thought was a surprise offensive, the Pure Ones would not be caught off guard.

The possibility of such an attack lingered in Nyra and Kludd's minds, but they didn't obsess over it.

The moon-faced Tyto and companion stood in the castle's arched main entryway.

The imposing wooden doors had since rotted away. Their stout iron handles, half buried in the earth, were completely covered in rust due to countless moons of exposure to the elements.

The pair of adult Tytos standing next to them, however, were in much better condition.

"Though I wouldn't mind teaching those St. Aegolius fools a brutal lesson, I would prefer for them to decide against engaging us in battle."

"Even if they don't, we can't stay here long. We have to leave Silverveil and regroup with the rest of our forces."

"Correct. Still, for the time being, we can't let fear get the better of us. We should concentrate on enjoying this lovely night."

"I agree."

Kludd discreetly rubbed his head Nyra's cheek. She reciprocated.

"Let's go inside. Walk with me."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

They retreated into the castle. Side-by-side they ambled through its rubble-strewn corridors.

Silvery beams of light shot through numerous holes in the vaulted ceiling where blocks of stone had come crashing down in the past.

The natural illumination was beneficial from an aesthetic standpoint. In their absence, their sharp eyesight would've allowed them to navigate the darkened passageways regardless.

Soon they arrived at the entrance to the rearmost chamber of the castle. They stumbled upon a male sooty owl chasing after a mouse on foot.

It squealed in terror as he pounced on it.

"You can't escape my talons, pathetic creature."

He stuffed the rodent into his beak headfirst, swallowing it in one gulp. The squealing ceased.

"A decent capture, but I have seen better. Your technique could use some improvement."

The sooty jumped at the sound of Nyra's voice. Stifling his shock, he turned around and bowed in a gesture of submission.

"Good evening, General Ma'am, High Tyto."

"Good evening, soldier," she replied calmly. "Stand up."

He complied.

"Listen closely. Kludd and I are eager to spend some time alone. You are to guard this doorway with the help of a fellow Pure One. We are not to be disturbed for any reason whatsoever, _unless_ St. Aegolius attacks. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, General Ma'am. We will guarantee your privacy."

"Excellent. Now go."

He dipped his head and sailed off.

The double doors appeared intact, but wood-boring insects had partially hollowed them out. The accumulated damage left them brittle and reduced their weight significantly.

Despite their age, the slightly-rusted hinges were operational.

Kludd backed into the starboard door, pushing it open with a fair bit of effort.

"After you."

Nyra cast a sidelong smile at him as she slipped on by. He followed her inside and shut the door firmly behind him.

In that hallowed chamber, uplifting hymns were sung and solemn tributes were offered by the devout Others. Centuries later, echoes of the religious ceremonies that took place lingered in the air.

A few of the bronze torch sconces mounted on the walls had fallen to the ground. The pews had disintegrated and the carpet lining the central isle had been eaten away.

The chamber itself was more or less intact, save for a couple gaps in the roof. The walls and support pillars fared reasonably well, though a handful of stone blocks had become dislodged and some crumbling had occurred.

The back wall featured a sizable circular hole roughly twenty pytes off the ground. In days gone by, it cradled a spectacular stained-glass window depicting a pivotal religious scene.

The remnants of the shattered window were scattered across the dais, fragmented and unrecognizable. All but the bottom one-fifth had stayed in place.

It caught the moonlight and converted it into a multicolored curtain. Nyra coolly strolled down the aisle towards the dais.

The torrent of moonlight pouring in through the breach engulfed her. Her pristine plumage exuded a heavenly glow, seemingly illuminated from within.

The natural luster of her feathers was revealed; they shimmered as if coated with a fine layer of crystal dust. The stunning sight stole the breath from Kludd's lungs.

It was as though she'd transformed into a perfect being, one too surreal to exist in the mortal world. Despite this, Kludd knew that she was indeed real, and that she belonged to him.

She ambled on, stopping once she immersed herself in the rainbow. The mosaic of colored polygons danced upon the ivory canvas that was her plumage.

Kludd blinked, transfixed by her alluring appearance.

"Join me, my dear," she beckoned invitingly.

He did so without delay and they basked in the polychromatic beam together.

Being female, Nyra was noticeably taller than her male subordinates, barn owl or otherwise. Due to his unusually large size, Kludd was practically the only Tyto who stood at eye level with her.

Nyra gingerly removed his mask, setting it aside.

He peered deep into her obsidian eyes and declared, "Your beauty is unmatched."

Nyra grinned.

"And you are exceptionally handsome, tenacious and cunning."

"You helped shape me into a confident and fearsome Tyto."

"It is true that you were once my subordinate. Your slaughter of the High Tyto proved your worth, and now you are my equal."

Kludd affected a darker expression. "I won't hesitate to kill and destroy in your name. Any owl that challenges us will suffer my wrath."

A tongue of crimson flame, a manifestation of deep-seated anger, manifested in the depths of his glossy black pools. He peered up at the night sky through a square hole in the ceiling overhead.

"None are more deserving of retribution than Soren, my traitorous brother. Oh, how I long to tear his gizzard out and sink my talons in his heart."

Kludd's menacing growl resounded within the confined space before fading into nothingness.

"In time, he will pay for his transgressions with his life. You will have your revenge, I assure you."

Her gentle affirmation subdued the smoldering fury in his soul. The fire in his eyes abated.

"Tonight, we need not concern ourselves with anyone but each other."

She ran one of her port talons down the left rim of his facial disk.

"You understand, don't you?"

He met her gaze. Somehow, the moons they'd spent together enabled him to decipher her veiled thoughts.

Recognition sparkled in his lustrous eyes.

"Is that what you sincerely desire?"

"Yes. This is the perfect night for our bond to be made permanent."

"Then I will grant your wish, as there is _nothing_ I wouldn't do for you."

"We were always meant to take part in this intimate ritual…"

Caging him in her majestic wings, Nyra pulled him close. Their bodies collided without a sound, her breast and belly molding to the contour of his spine.

Burying her beak in his nape feathers, she proceeded to gingerly tousle his plumage. Electric tingles radiated outward whenever her beak touched his skin.

Warmth of an odd-yet-agreeable kind spread throughout his body. Kludd shut his eyes and remained motionless, concentrating on savoring the delicious sensations.

Nyra worked her way down his back, sweeping side-to-side methodically. Ultimately, she arrived at his rump.

Kludd couldn't help but shudder in delight as she ruffled the patch of feathers overlying his tail base. He exhaled a sigh of pure contentment.

"Enjoying this special treatment, are you?"

He turned to face her.

"Yes. Please continue…"

"Of course."

She ran her beak up and down his starboard flank obliquely. Twenty seconds passed and Kludd refused to leave her out of the loop any longer.

He leaned forward and fervently preened the feathers between her wings.

Inching all the way down to her own rump, tidied up her tail feathers individually, and paused.

She switched to his port flank and gave him another dose of elation. After about a minute she stopped.

"That was wonderful, Nyra."

She stood upright and replied, "I knew you'd like it. You did quite well yourself."

"Thank you. I'm not finished with you yet."

Kludd shuffled backwards one pace, bent over, and flipped his head upside down. He delved beak first into her belly feathers.

This time it was Nyra who shivered in delectation.

"My, you're rather skilled at this," she remarked.

His reply was muffled but audible nonetheless: "Practice makes perfect."

"I can't argue with that."

He traced out a zigzag path as he traveled upwards at a slow pace, spending sixty seconds on her midsection. He tended to her breast next, not forgetting to tickle the taut skin surrounding her shoulder joints.

Unsurprisingly, Nyra chuckled when he did so. Lastly, he targeted her throat area, in addition to the bristly feathers encircling her beak.

Closing her eyes, she relished the titillating sensations he brought to life.

Forty-five seconds later, he concluded the preening session. Both their gizzards were aflutter with satisfaction.

"Excellent job. However…"

She took a deliberate step in his direction, a poignant glimmer in her reflective eyes.

"We are just getting started…"

Wrapping her wings around him, she subjected Kludd to a passionate beak-to-beak kiss. A spike of heat flared up within the Tytos.

A stifled groan of pleasure slipped out of Kludd's beak. He couldn't recall her ever kissing him so amorously.

By the she pulled away, he was fully inebriated by the taste of her unique essence.

"Again…"

Nyra rotated her head ninety degrees relative to his. The Tytos fused their beaks, further heating each other up internally.

It lasted for ten succulent seconds. They caught their breath, joining their beaks a third time.

Nyra upped the ante, caressing every inch of Kludd's physical form with languid, sweeping wing strokes. He willingly returned the favor.

The Tytos continued kissing and massaging one another for five drawn-out minutes.

Only then were they pleased with their efforts. Primed both physically and mentally, the Tytos were eager to escalate their romantic interactions.

Nyra reclined on her left side, unfurling her port wing.

"Lie down," she told him.

Rather than question her intentions, the High Tyto simply obeyed. Her wing doubled as a cushion and barrier, isolating him from the cold, hard floor.

Closing the gap between their bodies, she nuzzled his facial disk.

"You are going to love this… how should I put it… _creative_ technique I devised…"

Nyra ran her outermost primary between her beak halves, coating it with saliva. Probing the feathers between Kludd's legs, she triangulated the position of his cloaca.

Before he could prepare himself, she drilled the last centimeter or so of the feather inside him.

He gasped as a pulse of euphoria raced up his spinal cord to his brain. It caused his muscles to tense up and his eyes to seal shut momentarily.

"Nyra…" he moaned in a husky tone.

She withdrew the feather and slid it into his erogenous orifice once more.

"Oh Glaux… that feels good…"

She smirked. "As it very well should. Just relax, my dear Kludd…"

She began plunging the feather in and out of his vent in a reciprocating motion. Wave after wave of dizzying euphoria rippled throughout his being.

Each penetration event led to the uncontrolled flexing of his talons, a lurid vocalization, or a combination of the two.

"I never imagined… that being tortured by you… could feel so incredible…"

Kludd's heart rate and respiration frequency accelerated concomitantly. Nyra worked her sensuous magic on him for two whole minutes.

His endurance clearly exceeded that of a typical Pure One underling. He waited for her to extract her feather then gently grasped her wing by the radius, immobilizing it.

"I take it you've had enough?"

He nodded resolutely.

"Very well, I will let you rest."

He let go of her wing. She fanned him with it, conjuring up a light breeze to help drive off the excess body heat.

Kludd recovered from the pleasurable ordeal in less than a minute. Kludd rolled onto his belly, extending his wings as if in flight.

Turning ninety degrees clockwise, he oriented himself perpendicular to her. Peering over his starboard shoulder, he flashed a salacious grin.

He then angled his tail upwards and splayed the feathers, exposing his nether regions invitingly.

"I encourage you to dominate me, Nyra."

Her countenance shifted from curiosity to surprise to lust.

"Are you tempting me?" she inquired mischievously.

He haughtily retorted, "Do your worst."

"Hm, it seems you have become emboldened with the passage of time."

In an unorthodox display of role reversal, the female mounted her male partner, pinning him to the earth.

"Don't hold back. Show me what making love is _really_ supposed to feel like."

In a half playful, half-serious timbre, she replied, "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Digging her talons into the substrate for stability, she thrust herself against him with respectable force. The instant her soft, moist cloaca slammed against his, a bolt of ecstasy ripped through him.

The sensation was marvelous, breathtakingly so.

"Good Glaux!" he exclaimed. "Don't stop… punish me to your heart's content!"

She ramped up the pace of her thrusts, plowing into him once every two seconds.

"How I have longed… ahh… to do this to you…"

"I am so fortunate… unh… to be your victim!"

Kludd dug his own talons into the earth, rooting himself in place. The added resistance boosted the intensity of the impacts.

Ecstasy came not in pulses but in savage stabs. Over and over she impaled him, gradually chipping away at his endurance.

Fatigue began to seep into Nyra's system as well. The reckless assault dragged on for nearly three minutes.

Her stamina drained, Nyra ceased thrusting and sank to the floor, her legs unable to support her weight.

Breast heaving in and out, Kludd was temporarily unable to speak. He and his female counterpart had driven themselves substantially closer to the brink.

A significant amount of sexual pressure had built up inside their physical shells. The sensation was strange, yet far from disconcerting.

Four minutes was all it took for the Tytos to simmer down and recoup their stamina. On the contrary, the urge to copulate hadn't dwindled one iota.

Kludd clambered onto the dais and trudged to the chamber's rear wall. Nyra followed dutifully.

He pressed his back against the hard stone.

"I have waited my entire life for this moment."

"I bet you have. It is _your_ turn to dominate _me_. Let us finish what we've started."

"Yes, let's."

Kludd assumed a seated position, his tail projecting out ahead of him. He parted it down the middle with his legs.

Nyra flopped onto her back, sliding her tail beneath him. She then scooted towards him until their sensitive orifices met.

They interlocked their talons, linking their bodies to an even more significant degree.

" _This_ is the purpose we were meant to fulfill, Kludd. I _command_ you make shameless love to me. Do… your… worst."

"Never have I heard such meaningful words, and never have I been more willing to serve you."

The High Tyto glued his wings to his soon-to-be mate's hips. Flexing his legs at their ankle joints to draw her in, he rocked her lower body in a tight circular motion.

Kludd unleashed a groan of unrestrained ecstasy as her hot, lubricated cloaca ground against his.

"Sprink you feel amazing!"

When the sudden burst of pleasure faded, Nyra churred.

"Hah, look who's talking."

Kludd inhaled a deep breath, steeling his will and pooling his strength. Rhythmically he rubbed their vents together, essentially performing a chain of naughty cloacal kisses.

With each passing second, the Tytos spiraled inexorably towards orgasmic oblivion. Turning back was not an option; they forged onward shamelessly.

"Kludd… ahh… the way you feel… mmm… is nothing short… of mind-blowing!"

"To me you feel… unh… no less glorious… oh Nyra!"

Their breathing and heart rate hastened to purge waste gases from their systems and maintain a constant supply of oxygen.

"How… do you like me now?! I am the High Tyto… and you are my prey!"

"That's it Kludd… oh Glaux yes… drown me in pleasure!"

The sexual pressure inside them steadily climbed due to the male's vigorous thrashing. It reached a near unbearable level quicker than they expected.

"Oh Kludd… I'm so close… don't you dare let up!"

"As if I could!"

The High Tyto clenched her talons and executed a trio of animalistic thrusts. The fourth triggered their violent sexual eruptions, sending them plunging headfirst into an ocean of delirium.

Their orgasms transpired simultaneously. Powerful muscle contractions centered in their loins swiftly engulfed their entire bodies. Kludd injected his seed into Nyra's reproductive tract in a series of jet-like squirts.

"Good Glaux… this feels so unbelievably good! Sprink I love you Nyra! Take it! Take it all!"

The thrilling sensation of his fertile milk splattering all over her inner walls blew Nyra's mind. Frankly, it was an unforgettable feeling.

"Oh Kludd… I love you too! You have given me… the most valuable and sacred gift! We will conquer this world together, I swear to Glaux! I will massacre any owl that opposes us!"

Their synchronized orgasms terminated almost as spontaneously as they commenced. The male collapsed from sheer exhaustion, coming to rest on top of the female.

They did not disengage their talons.

"My Glaux… what an exciting consummation! I am impressed… by your lovemaking skills."

"Mating with you… was so very rewarding! Nothing I've experienced… in my wildest dreams… can compare…"

Kludd and Nyra locked eyes. The euphoric haze clouding their minds failed to prevent them from fantasizing.

"To bear your children… is the highest honor. Whether we create one owlet or several… our family will be unstoppable!"

"This vulnerable world… and all the owls in it… will submit to our dominion!"

"The rivers will run red with the blood of our slain enemies!"

Intoxicated by those tantalizing prospects, the Tytos laughed in unison.

Their hope and resolve burned as hot as the sun. They intended to set the Southern Kingdoms ablaze and bring about a new era where Tytos ruled.

The prospect was nothing short of exhilarating.

The Guardians were a bothersome thorn in their sides, but they were hardly invincible. The S'yrthghar only had room for one kingdom: the kingdom of the Tytonic Union of Pure Ones.

Crossing her wings upon Kludd's back, Nyra kissed him between the eyes.

"What a time to be alive, my dearest mate. The Pure Ones' future, _our_ future, has truly begun!"


End file.
